Darn! Looks like the party and all the magic is over (at least for now). As of October 27, 2013, Square does not appear to be allowing customers to link our MasterCard prepaid debit cards anymore. We have an inquiry into Square’s customer support to find out the details and whether support will be re-enabled in the future. I’ll update this post as soon as we hear back.

Michelle Reel, a 6th grade math teacher in Indianapolis, figured it out. She runs a “mini-economy” in her classroom. You see, money is always...well...interesting. No kid ever nodded off in class while buying stuff and counting money.

There’s one hitch though: the banking piece of the economy is a hassle. That’s why, back in May, Michelle wrote to us:

Parents, do you cringe when you hear a sentence beginning with “You should...” coming your way? Someone is about to hit you with their sage advice on how to raise your kids. Oof. No matter how well meaning the intentions, such assertions are inherently presumptuous about your family’s unique situation. Christine Bader wrote a wonderful post about “You Should” encounters today. Stick with stories instead. Tell a mom (or dad) what you did in your situation, not what she should do in her situation. As Christine says:

“Stories are much more powerful than recommendations.”

Let the recipient decide how to apply or adapt your story...or not. Amen. That’s something we can all keep in mind when talking to others about teaching kids good money habits.

So, how should you teach your kids good money habits? I don’t know, but here are some good stories to consider:

“Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.”

That’s a definition of the American Dream supplied by James Truslow Adams in 1931. The American Dream is the common thread running through this week’s family finance picks. Read on to delve into these deep family finance questions:

Are today’s 20 somethings engaged in the American Dream or the Me Dream?

How do we encourage the spirit of entrepreneurialism in our kids that is so central to the notion of the American Dream?

Is our society even equipping kids with the basic financial capabilities required to participate in the American Dream?

The FamZoo mobile user interface works great on Android phones. In fact, I use it every day on my Samsung Galaxy S4. The trick is getting things set up so you can conveniently launch FamZoo with one tap from your home screen. You see, unfortunately, we don’t have a FamZoo app in the Google Play Store just yet, so you’ll want to follow this one-time recipe to “install” FamZoo on your Droid.